Tokka Week February 2009
by Myah
Summary: Tokka-Fans-United, a dA fan club, were the hosts of this Tokka week. The themes I used are Shenanigan, Oblivious, Flame, Sneak Attack, Hide and Seek, Pillow and Together. Hope you enjoy the work I submitted based on this awesome couple- Toph and Sokka!
1. Shenanigan

**Day 1: Shenanigan**

"Torment Momo?"

"Did that yesterday." She smirked. "Didn't turn out too well for you, Snoozles." He frowned and rubbed his upper arm.

"Whaat? How was I supposed to know he'd attack?" He thought some more as they lay head to toe on the floor of the empty room of their house in Ba Sing Se. "What about messing around with my sister?" Toph rolled her eyes.

"Did that this morning."

"Aang?"

"Gone to a meeting."

"Appa?"

"Sokka. Do you really want to mess around with a hundred ton flying bison?" Silence.

"Good point. Longshot?"

"Went sightseeing with Smellerbee. Suki?"

"Left for Kyoshi yesterday."

"She did?"

"Yeah. Something about making sure Ty Lee was playing nice."

Dusting himself off, Sokka got up and walked towards the doorway. Toph rose and watched him as he paced. "C'mon- there's gotta be something we can do! I've eaten just about everything here, my haiku club won't be meeting for the next two weeks, both of us did our training this morning, Iroh's off with Aang at those meetings, Zuko-" he paused. A diabolical expression crossed his face as he turned to face Toph. "Wait- what about Zuko?"

Her head tilted as she considered. It didn't take long before her eyes narrowed and her lips stretched into a chilling smile.

"You know, I never did repay him for burning my feet."

* * *

_**A/N: **_What can I say? I love to pick on Zuzu! And that revenge issue was one of Bryke's many loose ends.

I was going to do the actual prank, but I thought I'd do the narrowing down of the choices instead, and leave the actual pranking to your imagination. And by the way, Tokka isn't the only ship in this piece. :D


	2. Oblivious

**Day 2: Oblivious**

"Can you believe it?!"

"What are you grumbling about, Sokka?" Zuko asked as he leaned against a wall.

"That!" he gestured wildly at his sister and Aang as they trained near one of the Western Air Temple's fountains. "Can't she see that!"

"Frankly, I don't see "that" either." Toph drawled from her perch on one of the temple's fallen stone pillars. Unchastened, Sokka paced in front of her as he explained.

"How much Aang likes her! Look at him- he's blushing like crazy every time she comes close!" His back to her, Sokka missed the sudden flare of pink in her cheeks. However, Zuko didn't. He frowned.

"Wow, Sokka. Brilliant observation."

"Hey, I'm serious!" Somewhat hurt at her tone, he began ticking off events. "When we first met, he couldn't keep his eyes off her! And he was always making these gifts for her!"

"Like this one?" She held up the arm with her space bracelet, and Sokka paused his narration to glance at her.

"Well, yeah. But that's different. I don't like you."

Zuko winced; Toph snorted. "Gee, Snoozles- thanks a lot."

"You know what I mean! He sticks to her like a burr, yet the kid had to singlehandedly save an entire village from a volcanic eruption before she even looks at him twice!"

"Wait," Zuko interrupted. Sokka glared at him, one foot tapping. "Let me get this straight. You actually _want_ to hook your sister up with a guy?"

"This isn't just _a guy_- it's Aang! He's harmless! Katara's blowing a golden opportunity here! She's just so... so..."

"Oblivious?" Toph supplied. Sokka turned to her, beaming.

"Exactly!"

* * *

**_A/N: __dA has a headdesk emoticon that's just so perfect for this moment. While writing it (and every time I re-read it) I feel like Sokka when he was with that nomad- Chong. His thick-headedness is definitely a water tribe thing. _**

**_Kudos to dA's sractheninja for inspiring this piece! When I saw the theme, I remembered his peice- and it just wouldn't let me go! Check it out here: sractheninja _**dot**_ deviantart _**dot**_ com _**slash **_art _**slash **_Tokka-100-81-How-46034334 (remove all spaces).  
_**


	3. Flame

**Day 3: Flame**

It's not easy being alone when everyone around you seems to have paired off.

Not that I was about to admit it to anyone, of course. I had a reputation to maintain. But sometimes, it was hard. They sometimes forgot that closed doors are no barrier for me.

I could always see them.

The quick kisses, the passionate embraces- I saw them all. They've made me feel like a spy among the first people to make me feel welcome. And I hated it.

Growing up, I've never had a good opinion of "love". Love was why my parents locked me away. Love was why they denied my existence. It's possible that they deluded themselves into thinking that love was the reason they'd sent two bounty hunters after me. I believed that I had that emotion to blame for so many of the hardships in my life. And I was supposed to trust it? Even look for it? _Please._

But in the time I spent with the others, I realized something. Love is also the reason Sokka didn't let Katara go off alone after Aang was taken. Love was why Iroh was always there for Zuko. Love was why Mai helped Zuko escape- even though it put her own life at risk. Love is what bound all of us together through difficulty. It doesn't have to be romantic; it isn't selfish. I may not have understood why my parents acted as they did, but I couldn't blame love for it.

Love among friends and love between two particular people- like Aang and Katara, or Mai and Zuko- are two different matters, though. So when I realized that I was developing those kind of feelings- for Sokka, of all people- I have to be honest. I freaked. I had learnt to deal with- even appreciate- platonic love- but romantic? Hell no! So for years, I didn't say anything. I watched him hook up with Suki. I was there to help them when they got into trouble. I was there when everything seemed to be going to hell in a hand basket around us- and they were still going strong.

I was there when he lost her.

So here I am, on my way to the South Pole on one of the Fire Nation's ships. You see, it seems I wasn't as good as I thought I'd been about hiding my feelings- whether about Sokka, or about love in general, I never could tell. But soon after we'd ended the war, Iroh told me something I've never forgotten.

_"Love is like a flame, Toph. It's true that, at times, it can hurt us. You can turn your back on it, deny it fuel, let it die. But if you turn away from the flame, how will you ever come to enjoy the warmth it can bring?"_

I can only hope that Iroh was right. Because right now Sokka's in pain- and I want to help him. I may have resented Suki for her relationship with Sokka, but she did make him happy. I can't hate her for that.

But I still ask myself- would the warmth of a love that I've hidden for so many years be enough to warm his heart in these icy lands?

* * *

_**A/N: This was NOT what I was going to do. But Toph kept deleting everything I typed. So after a while, I just let her talk- and she was suddenly years older, and much more mature.**_

Sometimes, letting characters have their own way turns out for the best.


	4. Sneak Attack

**Day 4: Sneak Attack**

He still didn't understand how it had happened.

He stared at her as she rested, the grief- stricken lines of her face relaxing in sleep, her tiny body cushioned by a thick blanket. His mouth twitched into a small smile- sixteen years old, and she wasn't much taller than she'd been at twelve.

How the years had flown as they'd fought side by side, back to back, routing out pockets of rebellion throughout the Fire Nation. She'd come to his rescue when he had left to find his sword and boomerang. She'd kept the others away when Suki had returned to Kyoshi Island- and a life that didn't include him. He'd stood beside her in that final nasty confrontation with her parents.

Ah, if only they'd known then…

He brushed a stray lock of hair away from her tearstained face- it had grown out so much. Leaning against the wide trunk of the tree behind him, he pulled his eyes away from the firelight dancing over her features and stared up at the night sky. He wished he could see the moon- Yue's light always seemed to help when he was confused- but the trees surrounding them hid her from sight.

How could he have missed for so long what she meant to him? He'd denied it when Katara had teased him about it; ignored suggestions from his father that it was past time he started looking for a wife. He groaned and let his head fall back against the massive tree trunk with an audible thump.

She truly was one of the greatest warriors he'd ever known. After all, who else could have snuck into his heart, waged war- and won- before he was even aware of the battle?

One glance at his sword reminded him, however, of his horrendous timing. Taking the bloodied blade, he cleaned it off and then did the same with his boomerang. This last battle had been hard. They should have been better prepared- should have known the sneak attack was coming. They'd spent so much time hunting down and handing these criminals over to justice- how could he not have foreseen some measure of retaliation? And now, because of his oversight, Toph had paid a heavy price.

He glanced again at her as she moaned in her sleep, tears once again slipping past her lids. His heart lurched.

How in the world do you tell your best friend that you were in love with them, when your carelessness had caused her family's death?

* * *

_**A/N: I blame dA's paintedbluerose for this!! She gave me the urge... the urge to kill..**_

_**Any more bloodshed that occurs is also her fault.  
**_


	5. Hide and Seek

**Day 5: Hide and Seek**

I was surprised to walk into the library and feel someone underground.

Not that this was an unusual occurrence in our house. With four earthbenders in residence- two under the age of ten- it was inevitable that we'd now and again feel each other underfoot. What was strange was that this particular bender had dared to trespass under dad's sanctuary- and so soon after mom's last complaint about sagging foundations.

I ignored him as I closed the door and went to the shelves to get dad's copy of "Waterbending technology". Clearing a space on his permanently cluttered desk- what in the world was his boomerang doing here?- I rolled out the scroll and found the passage I needed. Only then did I turn my attention to the recalcitrant sibling still hiding underground.

Taking firm hold of the walls of his hidey hole to prevent escape, I lifted the floor and a portion of the house's foundations to expose him. He tried to escape, but was no match for a bender twice his age. Instead, he turned an innocent, gap-toothed smile on me.

"So what's the story this time?"

"Hide and seek. Yuan's seeking. Is she there?" I checked.

"Nope. She seems to be searching outside." As he clambered out of the hole, something seemed… odd. "By the way, it's not fair to hide underground when she's a waterbender."

"So?" An unrepentant grin- the little rascal was counting on it.

"Better hope mom didn't see you. After that incident with Cuddles yesterday, she's still mad as a hippo with a hernia." It clicked- his badger toad companion was missing. "By the way- where is he? Aunt Katara's here, and you know how little Kaya is about badg-"

A bloodcurling shriek tore through the house. Long before the first had died, there was a second.

"TOKKA! GET YOU SCRAWNY BUTT IN HERE NOW!"

In a blink he was back in his hole and tunneling for all he was worth. I closed my eyes and focused- mom was already after him, dad was chasing Cuddles around the kitchen, and Aunt Katara was trying to calm Kaya down. I chuckled and turned back to my scroll.

The little brat didn't stand a chance.

* * *

_**A/N: Whaat! It's Tokka week!**_

_**  
Tokka and Cuddles are the brainchild of ASN and dA's AzureArrow (although Tokka's supposed to be Katara and Aang's kid, I took a litle creative license). Her fanfic, Typical (A very Shiipy fanfic) has a cast that includes Zutara, Maiko, Junroh, Sukka, Teoph, Sokue... you get the idea!**_

After all, what's Tokka week without Tokka spawn!


	6. Pillow

**Day 6: Pillow**

My eyes flew open as the bed shifted- Toph was awake and reaching for her thick green robe.

"Feeding time?" I asked in the silence of pre-dawn morning- or late night. I wasn't sure which.

"Yes, Sokka- and it just takes one." I smiled at her as she slid out of the bed. A cold wind blew just then- and I pulled her back.

"Wait a sec, Toph. Listen."

"To what?" Though the shadows hid her face, I could still hear the scowl in her voice.

"Exactly."

Silence as she processed what I was saying. In the low firelight I saw he grin as she turned back to me.

"You know she's going to wake up as soon as I get back in there."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe she'll- dare I say- sleep through the night?"

"Jaya's just two months old."

"So?" She laughed- but I got what I wanted when she took off the robe and slid back into bed. Her toes were already cold- and she lost no time in sticking them under my legs. I didn't mind- much. My wife was back where she belonged.

* * *

More than a month later, I stood just outside the nursery. I knew that Toph was inside- but what kind of welcome would I receive this time? She'd isolated herself for so long- pulled away from me. For the first few days, I was in so much pain that I didn't even realize what was going on. Not until the day we buried her…

_"Murderer!"_

I flinched. Her screams from that day still haunted me. And it was true. If I hadn't been so... stupid. It was because of me, Jaya was gone.

Jaya was gone, but my wife was still here.

Even if she hated me.

"I can see you, you know." I blinked; tore away from my memories. Took a few steps- and faced her.

She was just sitting on the stone in a corner of the bare nursery, clad in her old green robe, her unkempt hair loose and falling around her shoulders. In her arms she held something- a flash of blue. I didn't have to come any closer to know what it was.

"You remember the day I found out I was pregnant?" I froze. Oh, spirits.

"I remember."

Eyes still on the object she held, she spoke again. "At first, you were so worried about me being sick. About losing my bending. But when you found out I was sick because I was pregnant- you were so happy. You talked to her, Sokka. You talked to her." The tears started to fall. "So many times since then you told her that you loved her. So how could you just let her die?"

I was shaking long before she finished. Closed my eyes; forced them open. My vision was still blurred. I took a step. Another.

Her silent tears turned to sobs; louder. Driving the spear she'd hurled time and again home. Another step.

She collapsed, and I was there to hold her as she broke down. Tears and mucus soaked the front of my tunic as I held her close, defying her attempts to force me to let her go. I wasn't about to do that- not now, not ever again. Her grip around the object she held weakened- and she finally let go and held on to me. The blue pillow that our daughter had never slept without fell to the floor.

Jaya might be gone, but we were still here.

* * *

_**A/N: Jaya means "victory". Suits a child of these two, doesn't it.**_

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of death in the US among healthy infants after one month of age.  
If you think they seem out of character in the second half, consider what it would be like for parents to lose their child in the middle of the night, with no explanation, no warning- and no sign that anything went wrong.


	7. Together

**Day 7: Together**

They were among the last of their generation.

They had watched the life seep out of their enemies. They had laid to rest so many friends and allies. He had seen thousands of sunsets- but they never lost their beauty. She had hundreds of times felt the sun's energizing rays on her skin- yet always sought it out.

They had regaled four generations of their descendants with tales of their adventures, their discoveries. Their fight to right a terrible wrong.

They told the story of two broken people made whole together.

Among their closest friends they counted world leaders. Spiritual guides. Warriors. Scholars. In their marriage, their elements, though separate, became one.

He became her eyes. Through him, she came to appreciate the beauty of her world.

She became his rock. Relying on her, he achieved heights he never thought possible.

Of course, such different people would never always agree. They had their arguments. Their hardships. Their heartbreak. They weren't that special, after all, to be spared the trials others endured. What made them special was that these trials never drove them apart. Instead, in learning to work together- to compromise- it made their love stronger.

**

It was heartbreaking, he thought as he stood on the beach, the twin coffins on the sand before him, to receive word of their death. But it was a grief he had learnt to deal with. They were not the first of his comrades he'd lain to rest; nor would they be the last. But to lose them both at once... He sighed. He could only hope that when his time came, he would be as fortunate as them. To fall asleep in the arms of the one you loved, surrounded by family- and simply never wake again.

Katara approached; laid a gentle, wrinkled hand on his shoulder. It was time.

He stepped forward, away from the assembled crowds. Planting his feet firmly into the ground, he called the sands to do his bidding. And they did. Slowly the two coffins sunk into the sand, into the rock, and were sealed away. Thus, the aged Avatar laid two more family members to rest.

* * *

_**A/N: ****My final entry for Tokka week. Day 7's theme: Together. And the one I'm the least happy with. *shrug***_

I'm going to miss these two.. but not for long. After going through these seven days, there's no way I'm going to be able to let them go just yet.


End file.
